Tour de France: Cavendish wins stage 3 in Angers

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Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) continued his storming start to the 2016 Tour de France with a second stage victory on stage 3, where he got the better of André Greipel (Lotto Soudal) by a hair’s breadth.

It was the German who raised his arm as he crossed the line but both riders faced a nervy wait while the commissaires reviewed the photo finish, and it was the Manxman who was able to indulge in jubilant – if delayed – celebration. It marks his 28th stage win at the Tour de France, drawing him level with Bernard Hinault and one closer to the 34 of record holder Eddy Merckx.

Frenchman Bryan Coquard (Direct Energie) was third on the slightly uphill drag to the line in Angers but the final 100 metres represented a two-way tussle between old foes Cavendish and Greipel – the ferocious and tense contest in stark contrast to what was largely a yawn of a 223.5km journey from Granville to Angers.

It was the German who opened the sprint, his lead-out man Jurgen Roelandts having led round the right-hand bend into the final 300m, but Cavendish came roaring back. After spending a couple of seconds in the slipstream, the green jersey wearer launched his bid to come round but it was a protracted affair as Greipel found a second wind, and the overhaul was only completed at the last gasp and by the slimmest of margins.

“I thought I had it but you never know,” Cavendish said. “I kind of knew I’d got it but you have to wait.

“We planned this stage, and I knew I’d have to come from behind. That’s why when Mark [Renshaw] went I wanted to be behind Greipel. Last year after I didn’t win the first sprint I was nervous and maybe went too soon in the following stages and I thought that might be the same for Greipel here.”

Peter Sagan was fourth in the sprint and retained his lead atop the general classification, though he did cede the top spot in the points classification to Cavendish, who’ll wear the green jersey again on stage 4 but this time as the rightful owner.

“To think when I started cycling I’d my name in the same sentence as Bernard Hinault… it’s incredible. It’s a pretty special thing today," Cavendish added. 

More on this story:

• Tour de France stage 3 finish line quotes
  
• 2016 Tour de France stage 3 video highlights

Video Highlights

How it unfolded

There were improved conditions on stage 3 after the miserable outing the previous day, and riders cut relaxed figures in the start village, with many sipping coffees and reading the latest edition of L’Equipe. That relaxed tone would continue for most of the day, with the peloton ambling along at less than 34km/h and well behind the slowest predicted time schedule.

Tom Dumoulin summed it up best when he glanced over at a TV motorbike and raised his hand to his mouth to mime a big yawn.

There was one attacker from the gun in Armindo Fonseca (Fortuneo-Vital Concept), who found no one for company and settled in for a long and lonely day in the saddle. The Frenchman’s motivation to be in a breakaway today no doubt came from the fact that this stage represented the only point at which this year’s Tour would pass through Brittany – his home region and also that of his team.

After picking up the KOM point at the only categorised climb of the day – the Côte de Villedieu-les-Poêles – he built up a buffer of around six minutes as he entered Brittany at around the 75km mark.

He wouldn’t emerge from the other side – into the Pays de la Loire region – alone, however, as Thomas Voeckler (Direct Energie) injected some much-needed incident into proceedings. With just over 80km remaining, the iconic Frenchman had clearly become bored and decided to jump off the front of the peloton, bridging the five-minute gap to the lone leader in no time.

That seemed to jolt the bunch into life somewhat, as Tinkoff, Lotto Soudal, and Etixx began to show a little more urgency. The gap was down to just over a minute by the intermediate sprint point in Bouillé-Ménard with just over 50km to go. The leading duo didn’t contest it but the main sprinters clipped away from the bunch to stretch their legs, with Kittel crossing first ahead of Kristoff, Sagan, Cavendish and Greipel.

After that the escapees were allowed to dangle out front, the peloton safe in the knowledge they could make the catch when they pleased, and they eventually pleased 8km from the finish.

By that point the sprint trains were in full flow, jostling for position with each other as well as many GC-focused teams who, as in the past two days, were keen to keep their leaders near the front and out of trouble. Etixx-QuickStep were prominent going into the last few kilometres but they misfired in the end – with Kittel finishing a distant seventh – while Roelandts and Renshaw took up perfect positions for Greipel and Cavendish respectively going into the final kilometre.

After that it was a drag race, with Cavendish showing that even with the Rio Olympics looming, his road legs haven’t suffered one iota as he further enshrined his name in Tour legend.

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